As a South African watching events unfold I'm unfortunately reminded of the Sharpeville Massacre that became one of the most infamous Apartheid era travesties.

I really hope to see cooler heads prevail and I hope that whatever comes of this, the government will make some significant changes to help communities like Ferguson in the long run and not just sweep it under the rug until there's another dangerous flare up caused by racial tensions and trigger happy police.

They just teargassed the whole neighborhood... ?? That's currently their final ?? and they're just going through the whole neighborhood teargassing. We're in a residential area and they just started throwing sh*t everywhere. This is happening now.

(At time of posting.)

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What the bloody hell is going on out there? If I didn't know any better, I'don't think some racist monks were out there trying to start a god dam race war like they always say is coming.

Who the hell makes Amnesty International get out at gunpoint? Friggin' pro-life protestor can come up to the door and a for-profit corporation can have a religious belief on birth control that runs completely contrary to scientific facts and reality... but journalists aren't allowed to cover a news story without be assaulted by police with tear gas (yeah, this is officially assault to me... police using force on people with no justifiable cause and every constitutional right to be there... I hope this entire police presence is kicked out on their asses)? Between this and the car accident today, I'd say this is giving me more of a headache.

"What forest are you talking about?! I can't see anything with all these trees in the way!" ~Farscry

In Baltimore, I covered many police shootings, most of them necessary, if tragic, and a few that were indeed questionable or dubious, if equally tragic. But in all of those incidents, a police department that remained fully accountable to its citizenry never failed to do one basic thing when a life had been taken: It stood by the body. All of those officers who took a life owned both their authority and their responsibility. They were identified before their public, and the sunlight of public knowledge was never denied to any moment when an agent of the state, as a matter of personal deliberation and presumed professional necessity, ended the life of a fellow citizen. This was elemental, and democratic to its core. If our country is to cease its drift toward a militarized police state, it is elemental still.

The more I think of the situation in Ferguson, the more I am convinced that, though there is certainly a racial component, the conflict is really, essentially one of how the powerful treat the powerless. And in that sense, the African Americans being so poorly treated here are the proverbial canaries in the coalmine.

As income continues to stratify and the very real possibility of 45% chronic unemployment in our near future, I see this sort of response being used with increasing frequency to not just scary black folks, but to all of us.

Agreed. The fact that they're teargassing and arresting the media sure as hell doesn't bode well either.

Edit: He totally did! It was back in May of 2010 though, not in this last week. (Not that racism was ok in 2010, but it's not as spectacularly tone deaf. I watched it on my phone though, so I'm not sure how to link the video, I can't see the id tag.

In Baltimore, I covered many police shootings, most of them necessary, if tragic, and a few that were indeed questionable or dubious, if equally tragic. But in all of those incidents, a police department that remained fully accountable to its citizenry never failed to do one basic thing when a life had been taken: It stood by the body. All of those officers who took a life owned both their authority and their responsibility. They were identified before their public, and the sunlight of public knowledge was never denied to any moment when an agent of the state, as a matter of personal deliberation and presumed professional necessity, ended the life of a fellow citizen. This was elemental, and democratic to its core. If our country is to cease its drift toward a militarized police state, it is elemental still.

This is really important. I've heard a lot of people unironically complaining about how the officer should be innocent until proven guilty, has been crucified by the media, and then turn around and post some heresay report about how Brown might have been a bad person due to some third- or fourth-hand account or rumor... so the shooting is okay.

"Once you realize what a joke everything is, being the Comedian is the only thing that makes sense."

I don't understand why that makes much of a difference? It makes the blatant attempted character assassination slightly more over the top, but other than that everything is just as sh*t terrible as it was when it looked like he may be a robber.

I don't understand why that makes much of a difference? It makes the blatant attempted character assassination slightly more over the top, but other than that everything is just as sh*t terrible as it was when it looked like he may be a robber.

Because it confirms that it truly was character assassination.

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I don't understand why that makes much of a difference? It makes the blatant attempted character assassination slightly more over the top, but other than that everything is just as sh*t terrible as it was when it looked like he may be a robber.

Because it confirms that it truly was character assassination.

Sad truth - it confirms it only to the people whose bias was aligned with the truth in the first place. Doesn't do anything for those who prefer to villainize Brown.

It was obviously character assassination even before this! "Oh we can't tell you the name of the officer, ongoing investigation! Er, number of shots? Ongoing investigation. Number of bullet wounds? Ongoing investigation. Oh! I can tell you that this kid robbed a store though. Apparently we don't care about that ongoing investigation."

I'm not saying that that scenario being manufactured isn't worse, it totally is worse. I'm just saying that it was ALREADY really bad. Even if he had robbed the store it would STILL have been an attempt to deflect the situation and the blame for it on to the victim.

It was obviously character assassination even before this! "Oh we can't tell you the name of the officer, ongoing investigation! Er, number of shots? Ongoing investigation. Number of bullet wounds? Ongoing investigation. Oh! I can tell you that this kid robbed a store though. Apparently we don't care about that ongoing investigation."

I'm not saying that that scenario being manufactured isn't worse, it totally is worse. I'm just saying that it was ALREADY really bad. Even if he had robbed the store it would STILL have been an attempt to deflect the situation and the blame for it on to the victim.

It does feel a little like playing "their" game. Meaning admitting, in some way, that the release of the video actually mattered and thus taking the police seriously when they deserve to be treated like clowns. As they've behaved.

This is really important. I've heard a lot of people unironically complaining about how the officer should be innocent until proven guilty, has been crucified by the media, and then turn around and post some heresay report about how Brown might have been a bad person due to some third- or fourth-hand account or rumor... so the shooting is okay.

As he goes on to say in the essay: Police are the only people allowed to decide to take a citizen's life. They absolutely, positively, have to make that decision transparent in order to maintain the social contract that allows police to make that decision. Otherwise they're just a murderer.

I think it's telling that people talk about the officer as if he was a murder suspect already. Innocent until proven guilty; keep the information secret until an investigation is complete etc. That's not the way it works if you're a cop. The police department needs to get out in front of it or they can't function with the consent and co-operation of the community.

I don't understand why that makes much of a difference? It makes the blatant attempted character assassination slightly more over the top, but other than that everything is just as sh*t terrible as it was when it looked like he may be a robber.

Because it confirms that it truly was character assassination.

And that as tough as it was to keep the peace during the majority of last night's protest, I'm afraid tensions are going to be even higher tonight.

I don't understand why that makes much of a difference? It makes the blatant attempted character assassination slightly more over the top, but other than that everything is just as sh*t terrible as it was when it looked like he may be a robber.

Because it transforms the police's buffoonish attempt to assassinate Brown's character to justify the actions of Wilson to the police straight out lying about Brown to justify the the actions of Wilson. It's literally Dave Chappelle's "sprinkle some crack on him" bit.

Given how poorly the Ferguson community took the police's original release of the video how do you think they're going to react when it comes out that the police purposefully edited out Brown paying for the cigars?

And, speaking of which, this is the second time there's been a media report of the store owner saying that they never claimed it was theft or filed a police report on the incident. So that begs the question where did the police report handed out to the media last week come from?